Microsoft issues fix for a Surface Pro firmware glitch

Summary:As part of its latest Patch Tuesday fixes for its Surface family, Microsoft has issued a fix for its Surface Pro tablets running Windows 8.0. There's still no fix yet for a Surface Pro 2 firmware glitch from last month.

It's Tuesday January 14, the first Microsoft Patch Tuesday of 2014. As has been the case with most of the recent Patch Tuesdays, Microsoft is patching its Windows 8.X Surface tablets.

As part of today's patch bundle, Microsoft is issuing a fix to its first-generation Intel-based Surface Pro firmware. The Surface Pro fix will be available "later today" for download from Windows Update. This fix addresses issues users have had with both the Type Cover 2 and Touch Cover 2 when running Windows 8.0 on Surface Pros.

What about the Surface Pro 2 firmware patch some were expecting to be out today? Microsoft pulled the December Surface Pro 2 update from its download site after a firmware glitch caused a number of those attempting to install the December Surface Pro 2 update to encounter serious battery-life problems. The December update for Surface Pro 2 included a patch that was originally designed to improve Surface Cover interaction including power-saving sleep functionality.

I've asked Microsoft about the Surface Pro 2 firmware update. I'm hearing from my sources that the fix for that one is still in the works.

A Microsoft spokesperson said: "Our customers’ experiences are very important to us and we are working hard to release an update package as soon as possible."

There may be more Surface updates from Microsoft today for its other device models. If there are, none are listed on Microsoft's Surface Update History pages at the moment.

Mary Jo Foley has covered the tech industry for 30 years for a variety of publications, including ZDNet, eWeek and Baseline. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008). She also is the cohost of the "Windows Weekly" podcast on the TWiT network.
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Disclosure

Freelance journalist/blogger Mary Jo Foley has nothing to disclose. WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). I do not own Microsoft stock or stock in any of its partners or competitors. I have no business ventures that are sponsored by Microsoft or any of its partners or competitors.